Herald News Letter: Weaver’s Cove request was painted unfairly

Posted on 19 August 2010 Tags: lng shipping

Fall River Herald News | August 18, 2010

GUEST OPINION: Weaver’s Cove request was painted unfairly

In an Aug. 11, Herald News article, Jamestown State Rep. Deborah Ruggiero characterized Weaver’s Cove Energy’s efforts to review public documents considered and developed by the Jamestown LNG Threat Committee as a form of “corporate intimidation.” This accusation is unfounded, inaccurate and unfair.

Requests for public information are routine when parties want to better understand the workings of federal, state and local government bodies. Our information request was respectfully submitted in full accord with Rhode Island law and is part of a multiyear effort to engage in a factual discussion about our project with Jamestown officials and residents. The role of the Jamestown LNG Threat Committee in this process is well articulated in the committee’s official charter which states: “The Town Council has determined that it is necessary to increase the gathering, management and dissemination of information pertaining to the planned transport of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) through the east passage.”

We agree the facts should be available to the public and elected officials so they can make informed decisions with regards to the project. We remain concerned, however, that many myths surrounding our project are routinely being disseminated.

Far from an attempt to “intimidate” the committee, Weaver’s Cove has requested public documents in order to understand the nature of the questions and concerns raised regarding our project by the citizens of Jamestown. This is a routine part of the permitting process that our company has been engaged in for nearly 10 years. Tens of thousands of pages of information have been placed into the federal permitting record.

We didn’t file our information request without trying other ways to work with the committee. Before the committee’s second meeting, Weaver’s Cove reached out in writing seeking an open dialogue. We heard nothing in reply and then watched the video of the second meeting. The tape was clear and concise: The full committee deemed that a written response to our letter would simply be a “waste of time” and there was no need for Weaver’s Cove to present any information or enter into any dialogue with the committee. We find the committee’s approach to “gathering information” disappointing. With more standard communication paths shut down, our only window into the committee’s work is through video footage of public meetings.

Having watched the tapes, we are not aware of any facts with regards to our project that have been reviewed, assessed and disseminated. The committee has been planning a Sept. 8 gathering where elected officials from surrounding towns have been invited to hear about our project — we have not been offered a role at this meeting. What information, if any, the Jamestown LNG Threat Committee has or is planning to disseminate to these elected officials is a mystery. Is it accurate and balanced? We can’t tell, and that’s why we submitted our public information request.

We hope that the information the committee has gathered will be disseminated prior to September 8th so that we have a chance to prevent any more misinformation from being widely disseminated. Correcting misinformation after it has been issued is always much more challenging than getting the facts right the first time.

For those officials and residents interested in factual information about our project, we encourage you to visit our websites LNGfactcheck.com and weaverscove.com — or review the thousands of pages on file at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (docket CP04-36).

Ted Gehrig
President and Chief Operating Officer Weaver’s Cove Energy